Connecting Clearwater

CLEARWATER — Scott Ehlers will speak about hurricane preparedness from 1 to 2 p.m. Monday at the Clearwater Aging Well Center, 1501 N. Belcher Road in the Long Center.

Ehlers recently joined the city’s Fire & Rescue department to handle emergency management and preparedness for major storms or other large-scale disasters.

For more information on this free presentation or other Aging Well Center activities, call (727) 724-3070 or visit www.myclearwater.com/agingwell.

Cooters to host annual anniversary bash

CLEARWATER BEACH — Cooters Restaurant & Bar, established in 1993, is kicking off its 21st anniversary with a two-day big-tent party Friday and Saturday.

The weekend tent party will include live music, lots of free giveaways, food and drink specials, kid’s activities, and contests, and a raffle for a 46” flat screen TV.

The event will kick off Friday with live music at 6 p.m. by local band, The Joint Venture Beach Band and Saturday’s festivities start at 2 p.m. with live music by local Sal Belloise and The Joint Venture Beach Band will take the stage from 7-11 p.m .

Suggested donation at the door is $10 to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation. To make a reservation, visit http://tinyurl.com/l55jemc.

Consumers use the Yelp website to search for everything from a city’s tastiest burger to its most renowned cardiologist.

Facials, chocolates on tap at fundraiser

LARGO — G. Joseph Fitzgerald, DO, provider of the Vampire Facial, and chocolatier Bill Brown of William Dean Chocolates are teaming up to support UPARC.

Join them from 5 to 8 p.m. May 29 at Pure Life Medi-Spa, 12442 Indian Rocks Road, for Vampire FaceLife and Vampire Facial demonstrations, tours and confection sampling. Guests also will enjoy hors d’oeuvres and champagne.

The $50 per person admission will benefit the UPARC Foundation. Reservations are limited to the first 200 guests. For details, e-mail elif@purelifemedispa.com or call (727) 595-3400.

Frank Dame to give aquarium update

CLEARWATER — The public is invited to learn the latest developments regarding the proposed downtown aquarium during a meeting on May 28 at the Peace Memorial Presbyterian Church, 110 S. Fort Harrison Ave.

Frank Dame, executive vice president and chief operating officer for the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, will provide an update starting at 5:30 p.m.

For information, call (727) 446-3001 or visit www.peacememorial.org.

MarineMax to host sailfish boat show

INDIAN SHORES — MarineMax Clearwater invites the public to the Sailfish In-Water Boat Show from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at The Pub, 20025 Gulf Boulevard, Indian Shores.

The event will showcase the new Sailfish 275 Dual Console, a vessel that offers a combination of fishing and family amenities built on an offshore platform.

To learn more visit www.marinemax.com/clearwater.

Nursing scholarship available

SEMINOLE -– The Kiwanis Club of Seminole Breakfast Foundation is accepting applications for the Colonel Mildred Imogene Butler Nursing Scholarship. This scholarship opportunity is for Pinellas County high school seniors and St. Petersburg College students interested in a nursing or related medical career at St. Petersburg College.

Applications must be submitted by May 30 to Kiwanis Club of Seminole Breakfast, attention: Lee Walters, 3562 90th Terrace, Pinellas Park, FL 33782.

To download an application, go www.kiwanisseminolebreakfast.com.

Culinary students to work with chefs

CLEARWATER BEACH — The nonprofit The Ryan Wells Foundation will turn local culinary students into “celebrity” chefs at the ninth annual “Evening with the Chefs.”

It’s set from 6:30 to 9:30 this evening at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort, 1160 Gulf Blvd. To attend, e-mail info@ryanwellsfoundation.com or call (727) 787-7863.

Students from Dixie Hollins, Northeast, Osceola and Tarpon Springs high schools and the Clearwater campus of Pinellas Technical Education Center will create appetizers, entrees and desserts alongside professional chefs from around the Tampa Bay area.

Here are the stories of just two of the students pursuing their career goals:

• Guilia de Lima used food to overcome the language barrier and culture shock of leaving Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at age 6. She’ll attend the Culinary Institute of America after graduating from Tarpon Springs High, where she’s training at the Jacobson Culinary Arts Academy.

• Eric Thullen, a soon to-be-graduate of Northeast High and its Culinary Arts Academy, lives with parents who are both blind. His passion for the culinary arts developed at a very young age and continues to grow. One day he hopes to teach other students.

Since 2005, the Wells foundation has awarded 82 scholarships worth $424,000 to 64 high school students. Financial gifts have amounted to $176,000 in addition to the $90,000 funding of a 2,500-square-foot teaching kitchen, named Ryan’s Kitchen, at the Jacobson Culinary Arts Academy.

The foundation honors the life of Ryan Wells, whose dreams of becoming a chef were cut short when he died in a car accident in June 2005.